Crock-Pot Hawaiian Chicken

This is a really easy yummy dish that you can throw in the crock pot and forget about it until you put it on the table. Serve with rice and you've got a nice summer meal without the oven being on and heating up the house!

Crock-Pot Hawaiian Chicken

3 lbs chicken breast

1 16 oz can pineapple chunks

1 15 oz can mandarin oranges

2 TBLS Lemon juice

2 TBLS brown sugar

2 TBLS corn starch (I actually used about TWICE this much because I wanted the sauce thicker!)

1/4 tsp each salt and ground ginger

Combine corn starch with cold lemon juice (if you put it with warm liquids it will clump up!). Add all other ingredients besides chicken. Stir well. Place chicken and mixture in the crockpot and stir to coat all the chicken. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours until done.

Makes 6 servings. Calories: 370. Total Fat: 3g. Sodium 260 mg. Total Carbs: 28g. Protein: 52g.

Sweet and Tangy Meatballs

Hello all! You'll have to forgive my absence....I've been busy getting ready for baby! She arrived a little early (8 days), much to the delight of her parents and is as cute as ever. The story is on my personal blog, if you are interested.

So...on to the recipe. I love these. They are the perfect thing for dinner or appetizers, for the family or a big party. With Christmas and New Years coming up, it seemed like the perfect time to post this. Did I mention they are totally FAST and EASY????

Baked Sweet and Tangy Meatballs

Meatballs:

1 lb lean ground beef or turkey

2 eggs

1/2 C breadcrumbs

1 clove garlic (more if desired!), chopped

1/4 onion, chopped

1 tsp Italian seasoning (optional...I usually don't add this when using with this sauce...)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all meatball ingredients and form into balls. (I use my cookie scoop - it's like a small ice cream scoop, but you can make them bigger if you prefer...). Bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through.

Sweet and Tangy Sauce:

1 C ketchup

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

1 C water

1/3 C brown sugar

1/4 C Worchestershire sauce

1/4 C white vinegar

Mix together all the ingredients for the sauce. You can then do one of two things: throw the cooked meatballs and sauce into a crock pot. This is how I prefer to do it. The flavors can simmer together for a bit and you can prep ahead of time this way. This is also perfect if you are serving for a party, as you can just keep it plugged in and hot. If you are in a rush however you can just heat the sauce on the stove and serve immediately with the meatballs.

I like to eat this with rice, so if you are doing that make sure you plan ahead and put your rice on to cook probably first, since the meatballs don't take long to make or cook. Also if you don't have breadcrumbs on hand you can 1)Make your own or 2) Substitute. Both are easy fixes. You can make your own by toasting bread and just crushing it up. This is a great way to use stale bread or the end of the bread that no one wants to eat. If you have a good blender that is good for making breadcrumbs. You can also substitute with OATMEAL or crushed crackers, cereal, etc. I actually like to use oatmeal with ground beef in a lot of recipes. Use the quick cooking or rolled oats (not instant). I like it because it doesn't affect the flavor or texture (that I can taste anyway), it extends and bulks up the meat (usually the most expensive part of your meal) for next to nothing and it adds whole grains to you dish.

With that I'll with you Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Hope your celebrations are full of joy and good memories!

Kristy

Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

I hope you enjoy this recipe. It is one of my favorite's and my family really likes it too. Serve it with a salad you have yourself a meal!

Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

Ingredients:

4 oz. cheddar cheese shredded

1 C. Cooked Rice

1/2 C. Sliced Mushrooms (Fresh or Canned)

1/2 C. Diced Onion

1/2 C. Evaporated Milk

1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup

10 oz. Pkg Frozen Broccoli

1-1/2 Tbsp. Margarine

1 tsp. Salt

5 Chicken Breasts boiled & diced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 qt. Casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

In saucepan combine all ingredients except broccoli, cooking over medium heat, stirring constantly, until cheese & margarine are melted.

Add broccoli and cook until broccoli is heated.

Spoon into casserole dish and bake 30 minutes. Top with a little more shredded cheese and let melt.

Black Beans and Rice

Inspired this week by $5 Dinners I pulled together this recipe for dinner one night. I hadn't planned ahead so couldn't do the crock pot like she did, but this worked out really good. The first bite or two I wondered if it was a bit to bland. But I had a bowl and then kept thinking about it and had to go back for more later. The flavors in mine were a bit subtle, but you could spice things up if you prefer your stuff that way. Again...sorry, the measurements aren't exact because I threw it together...are you tired of me doing that yet? I seriously used to be a recipe NAZI! But have adopted a more "flexible" approach lately. Let me know if you like it...

Black Beans and Rice

2-3 cups of rice

1 onion, chopped

1 can of black beans, drained (for a less expensive option, use dry beans...but you have to PLAN ahead ;)

1 can petite diced tomatoes (you could probably use fresh or any other type of tomatoes here, I used what I had)

1 C (or so) frozen corn (I'm sure canned or fresh would be just great as well)

Garlic Powder

Cumin

Put the rice on to cook. Chop the onion and saute in a bit of olive oil until translucent. Add the can of black beans and corn. Saute for a few more minutes to your liking. (This time I just warmed them up, but previously when I've done recipe similar to this it was fun to put in a bit more oil and make them a bit "blackened" almost. It brings out some interesting and yummy flavors.) Add the tomatoes and spices to taste. Cook until warmed through. Mix together with rice and serve.

My kids even liked this one! I think because it was a bit milder...it helped! You could bulk up with some type of meat if you wanted, but really it has all the elements you need for a meal and is a nice lighter option. No meat = a bit less money! A salad would also go really well with this!

Chicken and Rice Casserole

I think it's the fact that I'm pregnant and kind of loathing grocery shopping lately...but I'm less and less dependant on recipes than I ever have been in the past. A few years ago you would never find me just "throwing something together". Even today I still usually LOOK for a recipe, but if I can't find what works with what I have...well let's just experiment. Today I had the problem of a jar of canned chicken open in the fridge and some sliced Provolone that needed to be used ASAP! So I put together this casserole. I was a little wary of it when I pulled it out of the oven and wondered if Provolone was meant to be baked, but it was really good. The kids even all liked it! Didn't get to try it out on Joey unfortunately because my brother came over and ate everything that was left :)

Chicken and Rice Casserole

1 pint canned chicken (I used this because I had it. You could use raw chicken and just bake it longer or cook it before you put it in with the rice)

2 C Rice (or so, didn't measure. I just made two scoops of rice in the rice cooker and used it all)

1 can green beans (could add more/different veggies if you prefer)

1 can cream of chicken soup (I'm sure you could use other cream soups if you prefer)

6 slices Provolone cheese (whatever you have on hand will work I'm sure!)

Mix together the chicken (I shredded mine first), rice, green beans and cream of chicken soup. Spread in a 9 x 12 glass baking pan. Top with slices of cheese. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

I didn't add any extra spices, although I'm sure salt, pepper, garlic salt or other like things would have been good. I also probably could have used two cans of soup for the amount of rice I had. It wasn't dry because the rice was plenty moist, but wasn't saucy by any means.

Also as a side note...the canned chicken...I bottled myself! I got a great deal on boneless skinless chicken breasts. They were "seconds" so not whole breasts, but they worked perfectly for this. It was very easy (although it DID stink up my house for a few hours...). I have never used a lot of canned chicken just because it's really expensive, but this was a really cheap way to do it. It also is a nice way to keep chicken for long periods of time, without taking up freezer space, worrying about freezer burn, etc. And it's really tender and already cooked when you get done! If you want more info, let me know and maybe I'll do a post on it.

Stuffed Green Peppers

Made this the other day...it was YUMMY! It does take at least an hour to make, but half of that time it's in the oven. It's very easy and mild flavored. Kelley and I loved it!

Stuffed Green Peppers

6 green bell peppers (we used 4 large instead with the same amount of filling)

salt to taste

1 pound ground beef

1/3 C chopped onion

salt and pepper to taste

1 (14.5 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 C uncooked rice (probably have to use white or it will take longer to cook)

1/2 C water (I had to use almost 3 times this much to keep it from burning the pan!)

1 C shredded Cheddar cheese

2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed tomato soup (I used just a single can of tomato sauce instead)

1. In a large skillet, saute beef and onions for 5 mintes, or until beef is browned. Drain off excess fat and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomatoes, rice, water and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, or until rice is tender. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese.

2. While the beef/rice mixture is cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the tops off the peppers, and remove the seeds. Cook peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes and drain. Sprinkle salt inside each pepper, and set aside.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Stuff each pepper with the beef and rice mixture and place peppers open side up in a baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine tomato soup with just enough water to make the soup a gravy consistency. Pour over the peppers. (I didn't use water with the tomato sauce, just poured it right from the can on top of the peppers).

4. Bake covered for 25 to 35 minutes until heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly.

I have also in the past used this basic recipe to make a CASSEROLE. I did this when I either had just pieces of peppers left over from fajitas or something or didn't have enough green peppers. Instead of stuffing the green peppers I cut them into chunks and mix everything together, topping with cheese. I have also added other colors of peppers for variety and flavor as well as potatoes (cut into chunks) if it simply needed bulking up.

Chili and Rice

Ok - So nothing fancy here girls.  Want a simple meal with your protein, grain and veggies in one shot?  Chili and Rice.  I learned this trick in Hawaii. I just use canned chili and mix it with some rice.  Sprinkle some cheese on top if you would like.  Maybe you all know about this, but I had no idea it would be good until I went to BYU-H.  If you really want more veggies than the beans in the chili just add some carrot sticks, salad or something simple on the side.  Try it...see if you like it.  This is also a good dish to use brown rice in.  Even if you don't like the taste/texture it's basically taken over by the chili.  Let me know what you think...

Low Country Beef and Rice

Tried this the other day on the daycare kids. They didn't believe they would like it...but they did! It's really yummy. It is a little different, but has enough familiar elements...you'll love it!

Low Country Beef and Rice (from Saving Dinner by LeAnne Ely)

3/4 pound extra-lean ground beef

1 stalk celery, chopped fine

1 large onion, chopped

1 small green bell pepper, chopped

1 tsp Cajon or Creole seasoning

1 cup oats

3 cups brown rice, cooked (even if you don't normally like brown rice, use it in this...better for you and you won't be able to tell a difference if you use white rice)

3 medium tomatoes, chopped (1 1/2 cups)

2 11 1/2 ounce cans V-8 juice

In a skillet, over medium-high heat, cook beef, celery, onion, bell pepper, and Cajon seasoning in a skillet about 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until beef is brown and vegetables are tender. With paper towels, blot any excess grease. Stir in oats well. Then add remaining ingredients. Reduce heat to medium low. Keep uncovered and simmer about 5 minutes.

Note: I didn't have a skillet big enough that would hold all of this. I just followed the instructions, except transferred everything to a bowl and added the rice very last.

Blackberry Balsamic Chicken

This is another recipe from The Dinner Diva. It was really simple to put together and really yummy. Kelley didn't want to try it because of the appearance, but I had her take one bite and she LOVED it.

I served this with:

Green Chile Rice (Mix 1.5 cups sour cream and 1 can diced green chiles with 2-3 cups cooked rice. Cover with cheddar cheese and cook at 350 for 30 minutes)

Garlic Roasted potatoes (Cut potatoes into chunks and toss with olive oil and garlic salt, cook at 450 for 20 minutes or so).

Blackberry Balsamic Chicken

1/2 C chopped red onions

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/2 tsp dried thyme (I didn't have this so I just used italian seasoning)

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used thighs, bone in and just cooked them longer)

1/2 C blackberry preserves (I used Boysenberry because that's what I had on hand)

2 TBLS Balsamic Vinegar

Heat some oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until hot. Add onion and saute until translucent. Sprinkle salt, pepper and thyme over the top of the chicken. Add chicken to skillet and saute 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm. Reduce heat to medium low. Add preserves, vinegar, salt and pepper, stirring constantly until the preserves melt. Spoon the sauce over the chicken to serve.

San Francisco Chops

I have no idea why this is called San Francisco Chops, I got the recipe from my sister who doesn't remember where she got it or why it has this name either. It is super yummy and an easy slow cooker recipe. I changed it a little bit by decreasing the amount of soy sauce and increasing the chicken broth, I felt it was too salty once it cooked down with the original ratio.

Ingredients
4 - 1” thick bone in pork chops or 6 thinner chops (Cut off fat layer if it is thick)
1-2 Tbsp. oil
2 garlic clove, minced

Brown chops in oil in a skillet, remove to greased slow cooker. Add the garlic to drippings in pan and cook till golden, stirring. Stir in:


1/4 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup chicken broth (or 3/4 tsp chicken bullion mixed with 3/4 cup hot water)
4 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

Cook sauce, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Pour over chops in slow cooker. Cook on low for 7-8 hours (high 4-5 hours) until tender. Remove chops from slow cooker. Combine 1 Tbsp. cornstarch and 1 Tbsp. water till smooth. Stir into sauce to thicken. Remove bones from chops and place meat back into the sauce. Cook for 3o minutes more. Serve over rice.